Christmas, Love, Give & Hope

Merry Christmas! 

Christmas is a season when I am reminded to love and to give, for my saviour loved and gave Himself for me. 

Joy to the world! Sharing with you this nice version by Chris Tomlin. 

My First DAP Congress

Last weekend I attended my first party congress. 

Many of my comrades and media shared a lot about the congress, from the fact that it's our biggest congress ever (more than 2000 delegates, 1000 observers and 100 media), to the touching momento in appreciation of our old-time comrades, the funny "Ubah Rocket Style" sneak preview and the much anticipated new line-up of leadership. 

So I am not going to tell you all that, I am writing this to share with you my personal experience attending the congress and how it has left a mark in my journey as a new DAP member.    

Lynas: The Myth of Converting the Radioactive Waste

It's reported in Malaysiakini today that Science Technology and Innovation Minister Maximus Johnity Ongkili said that the waste streams may be able to be converted into synthetic aggregates which emit only low-level radiation and it is an "innovative" option by the Lynas [1]. He continued to say that "Don't politicize the matter. We are smart enough, we are not stupid people lah. We run this country based on international standards.” [1].  

Let's see now if he is really smart enough and genuine to follow international standards. 

Lynas (Part II): The Go/No-Go

As of now, whether to continue or to stop the plant operation, Lynas, which is a company from a far away land, will cost Malaysians a fortune. 

Some people may say that Lynas issue is that of a political one and it's mere fear mongering by the Pakatan Rakyat. While there's some element of truth (well, when General Election is near and everything even a hair-cut is politicized, I'll be very insincere to tell you otherwise), I strongly believe the move of anti-Lynas itself is that of a rational one and it is definitely the right thing to do.

This article aims to tell the readers especially those with technical background why we, as rational as we may, should join the effort to stop Lynas. It first gives a background study on Lynas plant operation and then analyze the go and no-go situations. 

Lynas (Part I): Scientific Evidence???

I read with great amusement of Najib's response towards recent Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL) protest over the operation of Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) in Gebeng, Kuantan. He said that the public fear over this issue is imaginary and based on scientific evidence, LAMP will not adversely impact the safety of the residents and the environment  [1]. He is not alone, our Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai has reported to say that there's no scientific evidence to prove that LAMP is unsafe [2]. Scientific evidence seems to become the 'template answer' for most if not all of the other Barisan Nasional leaders when asked about Lynas issue. 

I wonder if they really understand what it meant by scientific evidence in safety and health impact context. Let me 'curi tulang' a bit and use the definition of scientific evidence from the Wikipedia (as it is suffice to give readers a general idea): 

" Scientific evidence is evidence which serves to either support or counter a scientific theory or hypothesis. Such evidence is expected to be empirical evidence and in accordance with scientific method......the strength of scientific evidence is generally based on the results of statistical analysis and the strength of scientific controls."  [3]

In Lynas context, when we need to prove scientifically that Lynas is safe or unsafe (hypothesis), there should be a statistical analysis on the historical safety records of rare earth plants that use the same technology and raw materials, controlling/weighting the variables such as socio-political, regulatory, geological etc. 

In proving safety or health impact, scientific evidence should be based on the statistical analysis of the historical safety data and not on what the scientists or engineers say about the technology of the process involved.  

Telecommunication Towers - Health Concern

We've recently received complains from the villagers of Kampung Chempaka regarding their concerns over the health impact of mobile phone towers in the neighborhood. These mobile towers have been there for more than 10 years. Due to the increased awareness over radiation hazards recently, the villagers are worried that the presence of mobile towers in their neighborhood do affect their health.

This article is to explain how mobile towers work, what the international bodies say about the health impact of mobile towers, what standards available in the developed countries that we can use as reference, and lastly, suggestions on how to handle the issues locally at Kampung Chempaka and other residential areas in Malaysia. 

What's the Big Fuss about Women's Rights Movement?

When I was complaining about our Women's Minister's remark of "no need for women's rights movement" to my sisters and some of my lady friends, many gave me a puzzled look and asked "I thought we have equal rights already? Why do we need more women's movement?"

First of all, I am not a feminist. This article is not to promote female superiority nor is this to fight for special rights for women. Two years of working in the upstream male-dominated area of oil and gas industry, I know fully well what it means to be competing on even ground with men and that only hard-work, intelligence and good leadership can earn respect, and not special rights.

So, what is the big fuss about women's rights movement? My point can be summarized here: 

We need women's rights movement so that women can enjoy equal rights with men (not special rights) on the basis of human rights for life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. And gender equality is not only a matter of doing the right thing from the social perspective, it is necessary so that Malaysia can reach our full potential in economic growth and development. 

If you have time, read on the details below.

Huge Opinion Polarization

Thanks to the "LIKE" and "DISLIKE" feature in Youtube (Facebook only has a "LIKE" button, Twitter has none), we probably can have a very rough idea of what the netizens think about our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak. 

Image below is a print-screen of one of the many most recent Youtube videos of our Prime Minister. As you can see from the image below, out of the 59,975 views, 13,858 users rated the video, and more than 95% are negative responses (dislike).  This is not the only Najib-friendly video that get such a big proportion of negative response. Try to search the Youtube for yourself, you'll see. For the videos that make fun of him or criticize him, most get very high positive response (like). On the contrary, for the videos that are Najib-friendly, most get very high negative response (dislike). 

Can you believe that Najib approval rating across Malaysia is actually steadying in 60-70% in the opinion polls conducted by Merdeka Center? No, Merdeka Center result is not wrong, neither is the statistics in Youtube videos.  Let me explain why. 

20s and 30s, You are the Shareholders of Malaysia!

Part I: Ownership by Share 

Malaysians in 20s and 30s made up of the biggest chunk of the adult population (productive forces) in Malaysia. See chart below for the red and orange bars. If Malaysia is a company, we are the biggest shareholders! As the biggest shareholders of the country, we are supposed to have the biggest voice on how our country is managed and we are also supposed to be the biggest receivers of the wealth of the nation. 

However, do we behave like legitimate shareholders or quiet stakeholders? The reason why we are not receiving the benefits of the shareholders is simply because we have not been doing our part as shareholders. 

Sejahtera Malaysia

What a beautiful piano piece from a talented Malaysian, Jason.  

* The pianist is currently based in Taiwan. 

Puji dan syukur pada Ilahi

Anugerahnya tiada terhingga

Kedamaian kemakmuran 

Malaysiaku bahagia

Dengan tekad untuk berjaya

Berbakti pada nusa dan bangsa

Kami junjung cita-cita luhur

Perpaduan seluruh negeri

Chorus: 

Seia sekata sehati sejiwa

Menghadapi cabaran

Kami sedia kami setia

Berkorban untuk negara

Bersemarak Malaysia tercinta

Kibarkan panji kebesarannya

Kami rela menjaga namaMu

Sejahtera Malaysia

Today, My Heart Sinks for My Fellow Malaysians

After five decades in power, one economic policy after another under the Barisan Nasional, there are a few groups of people that I believe have been left out in our development.  While I am frustrated with the BN governance, I myself am guilty of being ignorant and indifferent at times. 

As I read these statistics, my heart sinks and tears flow, and I shall remember how I felt today for the rest of my life in politics. Today, I am determined to do this: never, never shall I see statistics as numbers and forget that these numbers represent the PEOPLE, my fellow Malaysians, the very individuals that deserve life, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness. 

BN, stop importing pollution to Malaysia!

After importing Lynas plant rejected by the Australian government, the BN government has once again proved itself a poor steward of Malaysia's environment by rushing into importing a petrochemical plant that was rejected by the Taiwanese government! Just like the Pahang government for Lynas, the Johor government is now considering the constructions of Kuokuang Petrochemical Tehnology Co plant. This project, which involves a petroleum refinery complex and a naphtha cracker, was scrapped by Ma Ying-Jeou government in 2011 in its own homeland because of environmental concerns. Just like what's shown in the picture below, it has been literally sent by the Taiwanese to Malaysian shore and received with an open arm by Datuk Sri Najib's government in Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC)! How sad!

Source: AppleDaily (苹果日报)

Dear Government (from a Klang Valley young lady)

(This is what I think a common urban lady in their 20s would ask the BN government about recent rise in crime rate.)

Dear Government, 

I've been hearing a lot about the hoo-haa in politics how our lives can be better under the opposition. I don't know how true it is lah since I can barely remember any politicians names and faces. They keep talking about subsidies, taxes, this index, that index, all of these terms sound so unfamiliar to me. Paiseh, paiseh. 

But recently I found something is wrong and become really confused. 

Original First Media Statement (Why I Join Politics? )

I wrote my first media statement last Sunday so it can be distributed to the media yesterday. Since it was my first media statement, I actually did not know how to do so! I actually wrote a looooong story about "Why I Join Politics" and "Why DAP?" only to realize that a media statement shouldn't be that long. Haha!  You can find the final and much concise media statement HERE. 

But if you love longer grandma story, do read on. Hehe!

Original First Media Statement (Why I join DAP?)

I wanted to prepare a more objective reasons why I join DAP but eventually decided to give a candid response to this question. Maybe it is the way I am wired, once I’ve decided to join politics, come on, DAP is actually a very OBVIOUS choice for young people like me.

The questions I asked myself while making this decision are:

i.             Can I fit into the organization?

ii.            Can I work effectively within the organization towards a better Malaysia?

The answer is yes. Here are the rationales.

Young People, WE are the KING MAKER!

Young people, may be you don't know, maybe you don't bother to know, our votes will determine the outcome of the 13th General Election. 

According to the Election Commission, there are 5 millions (40%) of the about 13 millions registered voters are between 21 and 39 years old. We, as the main and alternative media rightly put it, are the KING MAKER. Our impact can only be even higher as the election date is pushing further, possibly to next year. Let me show you why. 

Hope of Jubilee

Malaysia is celebrating her 49th birthday in the coming 16 September. This year around, NECF theme of the 40 days fast and pray is Hope of Jubilee. Here is the booklet! 

Experience from Tony Pua vs Syabas Campaign

YB Tony Pua was sued for defamation by the Syabas and KL High Court has asked him to pay RM200k damages to Syabas plus the interest and all the cost incurred. (http://tonypua.blogspot.com/2012/06/tony-pua-ordered-to-pay-rm200000.html). 

With all that he is doing, there's really no reason that he should pay for fighting hard for the benefits of rakyat and voice out for us. Therefore, we (his assistants, interns and some in HQ)  have teamed up to raise fund for him to pay for this suit.  There were two separate campaigns we planned in order to raise this fund. One is a usual fund-raising dinner and the second one is a mass campaign with the theme of “RM1 for Water Rights: 100,000 Malaysians Support Tony Pua vs Syabas”. 

Implications of Corruption in Environmental Protections

SEDA (Sustainable Energy Development Authority Malaysia) recent scandal is not a big scale scandal from monetary perspective. However, for those who are concerned about global warming and mindful of our national carbon emission, it is definitely a piece of news that worth follow. 

To be fair to SEDA, let's first assume that there is no element of cronyism there, that is, it was just a matter of competency that SEDA did a series of wrong decisions in awarding the feed-in approval certificates to the wrong companies. If this is the case, my advice is, we better don't run the FiT system as the net effect to the environment may not be much better than business-as-usual case. 

Partisan or Non-Partisan?

I must admit that I have become more and more uncool. Many young and educated ones think that it's cool to be non-partisan, or rather, it's uncool to support a political party and it looks really 'old school' and ya, weird. 

For a long time, I was a non-partisan. Firstly, I really did not want to be seen radical and non-objective by my friends. Secondly, I had a hard time choosing which party to join. Truthfully speaking, all parties appeared to be evil to me; like many people say, voting is just choosing the less of 2 evils. The one thing we don't need is be an evil ourselves, right? 

Too risky to vote for PR?

Since I started to get more active in politics, many people around me start asking me many questions and one of the most interesting one is this: "isn't it too risky to vote for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) to Putrajaya?" 

Why is it interesting? Because risk, unlike what everyone perceives, is not an adjective to trained engineers like me. When it comes to risk, we want to know how much risk? When it comes to making a decision that associated with risk, we want to know which option offers a lower risk. There is one exercise, like it or not, that engineers always have to do before running any operation called Risk Assessment Analysis. In this assessment, we define and quantify risk. 

 Risk = severity of a particular hazard  x likelihood of this happen

Entering into Politics - The Story Behind

"Why are you involved in politics?" I think this is the question my family members, friends, and many others will ask. 

It's a long story. I am writing this story today to make sure that, if ever, I forget what am I in politics for, it will serve as a reminder. 

投入政坛背后的故事

“为什么你参与政治?”这是家人朋友与其它身边人所问的问题。

说来话长，今天我撰写这故事，也是作为一旦我忘了参政的原因的一个提醒。